A Different Game
The Christian is different. The Christian knows that to die is to live. The Christian is literally dying to live.
We hear it in Christ’s instructions, and see it in His life. He teaches us how to live by showing us how to die.
He was born in a manger to a lowly mother and an inexperienced foster father.
He was baptized by John the Baptist who asked, “Why would you humiliate yourself like this?”
He produces a fine wine from dirty water, which would cost Him His life, for a couple whose names history would forget.
He sought the company of ordinary working men and entrusted the beginnings of God’s Church to them.
He touched the most repulsive of society and embraced those who were in disgrace.
He spoke to women with respect and suffered little children to come to him.
He washed His disciples’ feet on the night He was betrayed and abandoned by them.
He stood next to Pontius Pilate bleeding and wearing a crown of thorns before being crucified with criminals.
All this to show us that to love is to will the good of the other, even unto death - never to harm the other.
It’s no wonder He told us to eat whatever is set before us when visiting the homes of others.
It’s no wonder He said that the greatest among us must become the least of all, the servant.
And it’s no wonder that He said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat.”
The Christian is playing a different game altogether. +